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Friday, October 7, 2011

Capturing And Holding Light At The Edge of Darkness

It is pure joy . . . while in the garden . . . to see the sun cresting and rising over Walnut hill into a clear crisp new day. The days are shorter now but to have the sunlight for any amount of time is welcome.

Rain and clouds have smouthered the sun for weeks it seems, while the land and houses have absorbed the deluge of water falling and drowning out the light.

Our spirits need light. The old farmhouse here does too and hopefully the swollen doors will dry out with the promised week of sunny days to come. Sometimes I wish I could just capture the light and hold onto it like a firefly in my hand. The rays filtering out through the cracks in my fingers . . . each like a prism . . . each shaft of light tickling the folds of imagination that illuminate a joy for life.

Then there are the swaths of long dark shadows that diffuse the light so full of color . . . a full spectrum of possibilities.

Sometimes light can make us dark and we must make the shadow of ourselves walk into the coolness of the green leafy shade to erase the dark. Entering into darkness to remove darkness. To linger in darkness when surrounded by sparkling light can be intriguing, dangerous or simply a silly shadow play. Shadow play can also be high art as the ancient Asian artist have shown us with their intricate puppets and captivating music. There is mystery within shadows.

It is along the edges of light and dark that I find most compelling.

For now the gardens are awash with light and shadow and must feel like stretching towards the warmth of the sun after so many many days and nights of heavy wetness.

The waxing moon will be visible for nights to come and even in the darkness of night, moon shadows will be cast about creating edges of light and dark. One can become lost within a garden of shadows. Enchanting and mystical stepping into layers of blackness with pathways lit up by moonlight. The many forms of shrubberies and trees become merely that . . . a garden of forms. The many beasts of the landscape come out at night too and I can say from experience that a chilling growl in the dark can grip the heart with fear. It is in knowing the dark that we become more comfortable and understand that we too may spook ourselves and other creatures. It can be that within darkness too our inner light is illuminated.

Moonlight reflects the light of the sun back to us during the night . . . there is no warmth within the reflection but its beauty can stir up warmth within the spirit.

Lavender mist rises up to another new day filled with light.

Looking south out towards the garden playing with light.

I hope your days are filled with the beauty and warmth of light.

Happy New Year to those celebrating Yom Kippur.

To those activist engaged in "Occupy Wall Street" all over the country . . . Thank YOU! You are a light of hope in our trouble country. May that light of reason enter each and every citizen's life and ignite activism towards change and peace.

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A Landscape of One's Own

For thirty years, I have been farming/gardening, observing and documenting a twenty-acre New England hillside paradise, which includes organic wildly cultivated rambling gardens, fields of wildflowers and organic blueberries, forest, fabulous views and expanse of sky. My greatest joy in working with the land is seeing how my farm has evolved into a habitat . . . home to a diverse community of wildlife. My blog is a journal of all the comings and goings of the flora and fauna here. All the photographs featured are taken at Flower Hill Farm ~ unless noted otherwise.